On Aug. 3, Bowen, the state’s top election official, rendered an edict that scaled back the use of most electronic voting machines in the state, citing security concerns and vulnerability to hackers. Her ruling came eight weeks after computer scientists from the University of California conducted an eight-week “top-to-bottom review” behind closed doors. Forty six of the state’s 58 counties were affected.

“I am pleased to state that our Elections Office and its vendor, Hart InterCivic, will be able to comply with all of the secretary’s mitigations within the designated timeframe,” Slocum wrote in a memo Monday to the county Board of Supervisors. “When implemented, our layered security approach will help ensure that San Mateo County’s voting devices are secure from the kind of tampering that went on in that room in Sacramento where computer scientists had unfettered access to the voting devices.”